Arkansas Tech University’s 16th head football coach told a standing-room-only audience Tuesday afternoon in the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center that he took the job because of the rich tradition of academics and the football program and its facilities.

“I think this is first class. I think the sky’s the limit, I really do,” he said, opening the floor for questions.

“11-0, right, coach?” someone asked.

“Well, the thing I’ll tell the players, the big thing with me, all I do ask of the players is that we want to get better and better each day,” Monica explained. “The wins come when you do those things. I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on the players. I’m just trying to make sure we be the best we can be today. By the end of the week, we’ll be a little bit better than we were before. That’s what we’re looking forward to doing here.”

Monica thanked ATU President Dr. Robert C. Brown, saying “When I was on campus last week, it was obvious looking at his vision and everything he’s done on this campus, and it’s just getting better and better, and I’m excited about that.”

He thanked Steve Mullins and the search committee for “to be honest, just making me feel very comfortable during the interview. Things were done first class, and when you left this university, you knew this is where you wanted to be if you had the opportunity. It didn’t take me very long to know I wanted to be the football coach here.”

He thanked his wife, Linda; children, Ray, Lindsey and Austin; his mother and father; the people at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania for the opportunity to be head coach there from 2006-12; North Alabama head coach Bobby Wallace, “for giving me the opportunity to be a coach. He’s one of my best friends, like a second father and he’s taught me a lot. There’s no question about that.”

Finally, he recognized Mullins for his achievements with the Wonder Boys the past 16 years, and “for having a vision for what he built here, to make this job one of the best jobs in the country.”

Mullins, while introducing Monica, thanked everyone and said he was “overwhelmed.” Several people came up to Mullins after the press conference and thanked him for his 16 seasons as head coach of the Wonder Boys. He will stay on as athletic director.

Monica explained he wanted to build Arkansas Tech’s program with high school players, “with people who will be here four or five years. The state of Arkansas is the No. 1 thing in recruiting. I feel like we’ve got a great base with a lot of good talent, and we have a great location in the state.

“After I got the call [job offer], I was on the phone with the coaches and finding out exactly what’s going on. Everybody is out recruiting, and I’ve up late at night watching film. Coaches are on the road right now, talking to recruits. I’m also looking forward to getting on the road and meeting all the head coaches from surrounding areas. That’s very important to me.”

Monica said he is a 4-2-5 guy on defense, because of its flexibility. He places special emphasis on the kicking game.

“We’re going to work extremely hard with it. The year before last, we [Golden Bears] led the nation in kickoff returns. Everybody tries to complicate it. It’s the same thing we did 20 years ago at North Alabama. Just to show you, the last play of the game of this year [at Kutztown], we blocked a field goal to win it 14-12.

“I’m leaving offense last, because I know that’s what ya’ll want to know about. We’ll be multiple, one-back set. Everybody loves to talk about throwing the football, but the bottom line, you’ve got to run the football to win football games. When you’re up in a game, you’ve got to be able to run the football to keep the clock going. The best play in football is taking a knee when you win.

We’re definitely going to run the football, but we’re going to spread it out — bubble screens and different things. The big thing to me, the quarterback makes everything work. If you have somebody special in that position, he makes everybody a little bit better. The guy I had the last four years, Kevin Morton, he made the band play a little bit better.

“But we’ve got to find that person that’s going to lead this football team,” the coach added. “The thing about that guy, he’s got to have great intangibles. Your football team has to have great intangibles. It’s not about what great athletes you’ve got. If you don’t play good as a team, but we’ve got to have the intangibles to win.”

Another priority facing Monica is choosing his coaching staff. He said he couldn’t tell everyone how many phone calls he’s received.

“It’s amazing how people get your phone number so quick. It’s just unbelievable,” Monica said. “I’ve had SEC head coaches call me, recommending people to me. You become very popular as a person. The thing I’m excited about is so many friends have called me from this area. It’s going to be great to see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s amazing, 15 years went by, but it seems like the other day. That’s what I’m excited about.”

Monica visited the ATU campus two times when he was on the North Alabama coaching staff. The Lions won national titles from 1993-95, then had a 20-plus-game home winning streak snapped in 1996 — by the Wonder Boys.

“I still remember that, and I’m sure you will never forget it,” Monica said. “That’s my rich history with this program.”

That, and riding on a yellow school bus more than nine hours to attend football camp at Arkansas Tech nearly 30 years ago. He ended his speech by saying the campus and community should be very attractive for future Wonder Boys and Golden Suns.

“I feel like our facilities are better than what we had at Temple before they redid it. These facilities are unbelievable,” Monica said. “I haven’t been to every Division II school in the country, but I’d like to see who has something better. You look at the press box, the field turf, the area that you can practice. You’ve got a lot to sell here. And everybody wants to talk about the facilities? Let’s talk about the academics we have. It’s going to be a very attractive fit for student athletes to come here and be a part of this program.”